Nurse Annie Brewster

Nurse Brewster began her nursing career in 1881. Within a few years, her skill, hard work and calming nature earned her the nickname ‘Nurse Ophthalmic’. (She treated patients with conditions affecting the eyes). Nurse Brewster was promoted to the position of Charge Nurse (Sister) on the hospital’s Alexandra Ward looking after mainly elderly patients. Her promotion was a great achievement at the time - a Black woman promoted to a senior position was far from the norm in late 19th century Britain. Nurse Brewster was respected by both staff and patients.

Annie Brewster wasn’t just a nurse, she was one of the first Black nurses to work in a major British hospital. She made her mark at London’s Royal London Hospital (then called the London Hospital) in Whitechapel, where she worked for over 20 years.

Nurse Brewster was born in Saint Vincent in the Caribbean in 1858, and moved to London with her family as a child. Her father, Phineas Brewster, was a successful merchant from Barbados.

She trained as a nurse and worked in one of the busiest hospitals in Victorian Britain, The London Hospital where

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Nurse Annie Brewster died in 1902, she was just 43 years of age.